Within the imperial city’s inner court, there were many offices, bureaus, and departments, collectively known as the Twenty-Four Monitors.
Among them was the Weaving Bureau, home to masterful tailors and craftsmen.
At the emperor’s command, a few lean and sharp-featured old eunuchs silently entered the main hall.
Their eyes flickered over Lu Qian briefly, then without a word, they turned and left again.
Yin Yuan lounged lazily on the throne, his right hand gently rubbing the bruised skin on his face—the result of a bear paw’s strike.
He pushed aside thoughts of last night’s events and began asking Lu Qian and Luo Qingzhou about the latest gossip and happenings from the common folk.
Of the questions he asked, Luo Qingzhou could only answer a fraction.
Holding a high position was one thing, but being part of a secretive agency like the Palace Surveillance Bureau meant that Luo Qingzhou usually only received trivial news—like which minister secretly went to the pleasure house, which minister’s ‘grapevine trellis’ collapsed and left a scratch on his face, or which minister’s primary wife, jealous as she was, ordered the beating to death of a concubine.
When it came to understanding the streets and alleys, Lu Qian was far superior to Luo Qingzhou.
He knew who married well in Anle Lane, which widow was charming in Min’an Ward, which grain shop traded fairly, which silk shop habitually sold inferior goods, and even the current grain and salt prices in the market.
He was aware of how different gangs at the city’s canal docks treated people, which gang leaders were loyal and righteous, and so on.
The emperor loved to hear it, and Lu Qian had a bellyful of all these scattered tidbits to share.
Yin Yuan smiled and nodded continuously, and Lu Qian grew more and more confident.
Before he realized it, he had been chatting nonstop for over an hour, carefully picking through the latest fresh news and interesting stories from the major wards and marketplaces of Haojing City.
“Well then, bring the tea, and offer seats,” Yin Yuan slapped his thigh heartily, pointing at Lu Qian and Luo Qingzhou with a laugh. “Hurry up, bring the tea and seats. After talking so much, you must be thirsty, right?”
Several palace maidens swiftly brought over two cushions embroidered with silk.
Lu Qian and Luo Qingzhou thanked Yin Yuan and sat down.
Next to each of them, a small table shaped like a vase was set up, with a delicate teapot and elegant tea cups resting on top.
Yin Yuan turned his head to Yu Changle and said, “Old Yu, tell your men to be more attentive. Don’t always keep your eyes on those ministers… They bicker and fuss endlessly. I’m already bored hearing about their affairs.”
Tapping his fingers on the armrest of the throne, Yin Yuan sighed deeply: “We should listen more to people like Lu Qing here, who bring news of fun and interesting things from the streets. For example, is that Widow Ma from Sanliu Alley in Jinbao Lane of Min’an Ward really as exquisite as her silver-like skin is said to be?”
Lu Qian’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
Luo Qingzhou lowered her head, quietly sipping tea, not daring to say a word.
Yu Changle wore a painfully awkward smile and glanced at Lu Qian with a trace of complaint in his eyes.
As the emperor of the Dayin Martial Dynasty, after listening to Lu Qian chatter away for over an hour about gossip, now he was fixated on Widow Ma?
“Old Yu, make arrangements. One day, let’s sneak into Sanliu Alley and have a look around,” Yin Yuan crossed his legs, shaking his feet in a relaxed, comfortably casual manner.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a widow in my life until now,” Yin Yuan sighed heavily. “You shouldn’t leave regrets in life, Old Yu. Don’t you agree?”
Lu Qian held his tea cup, taking delicate sips of fragrant tea.
He had come to understand this emperor’s nature.
But widows... weren’t there plenty cooped up inside the palace? The current Empress Dowager, wasn’t she the highest-ranking widow in the realm?
Eh?
Eh?
Yin Yuan’s words didn’t sit right.
Lu Qian lowered his eyes, seriously staring at a tea leaf floating in his cup.
This didn’t make sense at all.
He’s never seen a widow?
Which meant, the Empress Dowager wasn’t a widow?
Then what about the legendary late Retired Emperor? Was he really dead?
Dropping the topic of Widow Ma, Yin Yuan kicked back with crossed legs, smiling at Lu Qian: “Lu Qing, you’re from Jingyang Lu, the branch of the Laiguo Duke’s household?”
Lu Qian set down his tea cup, stood up, and smiled at Yin Yuan: “Your Majesty, I now belong to the Tian’en Marquis family branch. The Tian’en Marquis is my uncle. He earned merit long ago, and Your Majesty granted him a title, so the Tian’en Marquis household branched off from the Laiguo Duke’s Mansion.”
“Oh, oh, a nephew of Lu Tai,” Yin Yuan chuckled. “Lu Tai was a loyal minister.”
Shaking his head, Yin Yuan sighed: “Back when I was young and arrogant, thinking my martial cultivation was pretty good, I went to the ‘Azure Wolf Academy’ in the Nine-Twists Garden, to spar with over three hundred iron-back wolves that were just delivered there.”
His face twitched involuntarily, and Yin Yuan instinctively reached back and rubbed his behind hard.
“Tsk, tsk, thanks to Lu Tai saving me, though I still got hit twice pretty hard, and nearly lost half my backside.”
“Poor Lu Tai—tsk, tsk—he protected me when we escaped from the Azure Wolf Academy but got bitten to a bloody mess… a horrifying sight.”
“But understand this: Lu Tai was just a minor branch member of the Laiguo Duke’s house and only a low-ranking captain in the Imperial Guards.”
“His cultivation wasn’t anything special then either, but for the sake of saving me, he risked his life!”
Yin Yuan shook his head regretfully: “Saving the sovereign is the highest merit. I wanted to promote him as a Duke, but too many opposed it. Even the Laiguo Duke’s mansion strongly rejected it. So, he only got the marquis title.”
Lu Qian smiled but said nothing.
No wonder the outside world only knew that Lu Tai had performed great merit and was granted a title by the emperor, yet no one knew what exactly he had done!
These things, of course, can’t be spoken of openly.
A majestic emperor jumping into a den of wolves fighting wild beasts, nearly bitten to death, and Lu Tai risking his life to save him while being mauled to a bloody pulp by wolves—this isn’t some heroic battle against enemies or rebels.
That kind of “merit” would bring shame if recorded in the history books of the ancestors!
No wonder Lu Tai never mentioned how he got his marquis title.
“Lu Tai’s martial skill was still weak,” Yin Yuan went on, changing the subject again, “Jingyang Lu, the Laiguo Duke’s line, once had a very powerful figure—called, called… Lu, Lu… Old Yu, you know, the one who, during the Imperial Guards internal contest, singlehandedly took down more than half the guards? The one Father liked the most?”
“Lu Xiu!” Yu Changle quickly smiled and said: “‘Breaking Army Dragon Spear’ Lu Xiu. Back then, in the Imperial Guards, though there were a few generals with comparable reputations, old servant clearly remembers everyone admitted Lu Xiu was the first general of the Imperial Guards—even the then Master Captain was convinced.”
“That’s right, Lu Xiu,” Yin Yuan nodded. “Lu Xiu’s skill was much stronger than Lu Tai’s.”
Lu Qian cleared his throat lightly. “Your Majesty, General Lu Xiu is indeed my grandfather.”
Yu Changle narrowed his eyes, smiling kindly.
Yin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes wide. “Oh? Lu Xiu is your grandfather? No wonder, seeing your figure and manner, hmm, not bad, not bad. And your father?”
Lu Qian forced a dry smile, “My father is Lu Chan.”
Yin Yuan lightly patted his own forehead, frowning as he murmured, “Lu Chan? Lu Chan? That name sounds familiar…”
Tilting his head, pondering hard for a moment, Yin Yuan suddenly slapped his head: “Ah, is he tall and big, usually refined and gentle in speech and action, but when he fights, he’s like a mad dog?”
Lu Qian’s face twitched sharply.
“Like a mad dog?”
He didn’t know his father had such a glorious anecdote.
After all, Lu Chan had left home and disappeared when Lu Qian was just a child.
“That’s him.” Yin Yuan saw the change in Lu Qian’s expression and laughed heartily. “He even was my companion for two years of study—he was the apprentice of the Chief Historian, you know, that old relic…”
Yu Changle coughed quickly a few times.
Yin Yuan rolled his eyes and glared at him mournfully: “What are you afraid of? That old relic hasn’t appeared for almost ten years—might be dead somewhere outside. Why should I be afraid of him?”
“Back then, the Chief Historian dragged me around with a rattan ruler, forcing me to study. Your father Lu Chan sneaked into the Secret History Bureau’s bookshelves and read all those fun stories about demons, spirits, fox fairies, and other mystical creatures.”
Yin Yuan licked his lips hard: “He even secretly found a few amusing books for me. Tsk, those fox fairies now aren’t as good as before; back then, they’d transform into beauties to seduce scholars. Now, where did they all disappear?”
Yu Changle smiled helplessly.
Lu Qian and Luo Qingzhou laughed awkwardly.
Yin Yuan mumbled longingly: “But it’s not bad. Even if fox fairies are gone, beautiful female ghosts… seem not bad either.”
“What do you think, how could we properly bind… that female ghost?” Yin Yuan frowned, lost deep in thought.
Yu Changle cleared his throat loudly.
Yin Yuan sighed, stretching his legs and glancing out the window at the daylight. “Nearly noon. Get ready and send the meal. Old Yu, Lu Qing, and that big-headed one, what was your name? Luo Qingzhou, right? Luo Qing, come have lunch with me. Those four bear paws shouldn’t go to waste.”
With a sigh, Yin Yuan looked at Lu Qian again, grinning as he pointed lightly: “Grandson of Lu Xiu, son of Lu Chan. Heh, I remember you now. Lu Xiu was my father’s most trusted close subject. Lu Chan and I also have some history.”
“Lu Qian, work hard.”
“The Palace Surveillance Bureau is different from the outer court—out there, I want to promote a county magistrate and half the people are noisy.”
“But the Palace Surveillance Bureau is the inner court. I do as I please. I promote whoever I want.”
“Work hard, make merits. For example, if you can make Bai Changkong cough blood, even better if you can make him die from it. If you really manage to kill Bai Changkong with your fury, I’ll make you a count!”
Lu Qian raised an eyebrow.
The emperor harbors such disgust for Bai Changkong?
That, indeed, struck a chord with Lu Qian.
Beside him, Luo Qingzhou’s eyes were red with envy.
Is Lu Qian really remembered by the emperor already?
Sure enough, having a good grandfather and a good father beats being a ‘diligent’ and ‘steady’ official by far.
Her own crimson robe was earned by grinding for over twenty years in the Palace Surveillance Bureau.
But Lu Qian?
Luo Qingzhou felt like spitting blood and didn’t want to speak.
At that moment, footsteps resounded as more than a dozen young eunuchs carried in a soft sedan chair, swaying unsteadily.
Lan Cang Wang Yin Xing was lying inside the chair, bursting with excitement as he entered the hall, waving his hands and shouting loudly: “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Hey, I really saw a ghost last night! Guess who the female ghost leader was?”
Yin Yuan sneered coldly and curled his lip.
(End of chapter)